Running
by TheOneAndOnlyOcean
Summary: Faith finds herself headed for Pandora and faces the life of a an avatar driver stuck in a conflict between species.  This storie's rating may change from T to M due to sexual content  if I take that direction .
1. Point 1

This is a crossover, and being a crossover some of the universes will be a bit different, but I'll try to keep the characters' personalities as similar as possible.

Faith rolled as she hit the ground, recovering immediately as she always did. It was her last delivery of a particularly busy day, and she was ready for a break. The sun was starting to set and she had no intention of running in the dark. The city lights might keep the ground lit, but it did not reach 40 stories up.

"You almost there kiddo?" said a familiar voice over the comm.

"Yah, I can see it Merc," panted Faith.

"Alright, see you back at base Faith," said Merc, turning off the comm.

This was not an area Faith went to often, but her area of work had been expanding increasingly as information became more heavily monitored. It made it easier to find work, but that meant working more too. This mattered little to her though, the rooftops were her playground and she thoroughly enjoyed running. The rest of the world was just background noise as far as she was concerned.

She reached the building and stepped inside through a service door near a couple of air conditioners. The hallway was empty apart from some maintenance equipment, another door, and an elevator with a sign that read "out of order."

"Damn it," hissed Faith to herself.

The other door opened easily, it was meant to keep people out of the maintenance room, not the other way around. The room numbers and style of the hall indicated that this was an apartment building. Faith could hear a few voices coming from where the hall took a 90 degree turn, but they sounded pedestrian.

"Just keep it cool," thought Faith to herself, "No one is going to notice you as long as your remain calm.

She stepped out and looked for an elevator. A sign at the end of the hall pointed to one, and she followed it. She passed by two residents on their way to their room, but they payed little attention to her, or so she thought. Reaching the elevator she looked hopefully for a roof button and, to her delight, found one. The doors slid shut and the elevator quietly moved up.

As she waited she glanced idly at the news screen mounted in the elevator. It had one story on it, as did everything right now.

"**RDA Preparing to Launch Another Shuttle to Pandora**

The Research Development Authority is in the final stages of preparing another trip to Pandora..."

Faith continued to glance through the article with mild interest, then something caught her eye.

"Pirandello Kruger, the second largest security firm, was purchased by the RDA two weeks ago to the concern of many. Rumors have spread about a possible conflict on Pandora, however officials have assured that unobtainium production has been increasing steadily over the past 6 months, and that this will have no affect on the civil police force, which contracts Pirandello Kruger."

Faith was about to start the next paragraph when the door opened, the sounds of the city and the warm bay air flooded in. She took of the bag and took out a heavy duty envelope. Walking round the exterior of the elevator, she found a good place to put it. Hidden away, but noticeable enough for someone looking for it to find.

"Merc, I'm finished, I'll be back in an in hour."

The comm unit came on, "Good work Faith. Don't stay out to late, we've got just as much to deliver tomorrow."

"You know we really should find some more runners..." started Faith, but was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Faith?" asked the voice.

Faith turned around sharply to see her sister Kate. Kate had originally been part of the police force, but was forced to join Pirandello Kruger when the city decided to use contracted security instead.

"Kate? What are you doing here?" asked Faith.

"The same reason you're here, the package is mine."

"Why do you need me to run information?" asked Faith. She added a bitter tone to her voice, "I thought PKs didn't have to worry like the rest of us."

"Faith," started Kate, "I'm leaving..."

"Leaving what? PK?" asked Faith hopefully. A few imaginations of Kate joining her flitted through her head, she hadn't wanted to grow apart from her sister but she had.

"No, I'm leaving Earth," burst out Kate.

"What?" asked Kate, shocked by this last burst.

"Don't you read the news? PK's been bought up by the RDA. I've been drafted to the Pandora team. Somethings going wrong out there, they're drafting a huge amount of us to go."

The information took a minute to sink in on Faith, she hadn't seen her sister in years but she the idea of her leaving for however long she was shocked Faith.

Faith took a deep breath and asked the question, "How long?"

Kate was reluctant to answer, "It's a 4 year shift, but it takes 6 years to get between here and Pandora. They've got me in the experimental defense division, I'm part of the av..."

"16 years!" said Faith with some exasperation.

They were both 27 now, and some quick mental addition told Faith something she didn't want to here.

"You'll be 31 when you'd get back, and I'll be 43..."

"Faith I know we aren't the closest, but I'm really sorry it's turned out this way."

Faith turned to the side of the elevator and grabbed the envelope, tossing it to Kate.

"Here's your shit, I'm gone," said Faith angrily as she started to walk towards the edge of the roof.

"Put your hands behind your head and remain where you are standing!" shouted another voice.

Faith turned around slowly to see one of the residents she had seen earlier. He had a PK badge around his neck and a pistol in is hand. All the color in Kate's face drained.

The man turned towards Kate, "You too!" he shouted, his gun trembling.

"It's ok," started Kate, "I'm with you."

She started to reach for her badge, but the rookie cop thought she might be reaching for her gun and fired. Faith took this opportunity to charge toward the cop. He turned towards her and fired, but Faith dropped down and slid, kicking him in the groin. She grabbed his gun hand and the back of his head. Bringing her knee up and his head down with force, knocking him out.

Faith turned toward Kate and saw her lying on the ground bleeding. She ran toward her and knelt down by her side.

"Kate, hang in there. I'll get you to a doctor."

"No," said Kate with her few remaining breaths, "You won't."

"Kate, don't act like this," said Faith, the worry growing in her voice. She looked at the bullet wound and saw Kate was right.

"Faith," said Kate, now on her last breath, "Take this, don't let them find it..."

Kate reached for the package, but her life left her at the moment and her hand fell limp.

Faith grabbed the package and tore it open angrily. Inside it was a small, yellow memory card with the name "Max Patel" written on it. She pocketed it and turned back to Kate.

She hit the small button on her comm and reached down to shut Kate's eyes for the last time.

"Merc," she said somberly, "Kate's dead..."

This was followed by a large cracking noise as the butt of something metal and hard hit Faith in the back of her head.

Apparently the rookie had called for backup.


	2. Point 2

Faith woke up to the muffled sound of activity. She opened her eyes and rubbed the back of her head. She was in a prison cell. After a few seconds the memories of what had happened began to flood in. The people in the hall, running into Kate, what Kate was planning to do, the cop, the gunshot, Kate's death, and... the memory card. She checked her pocket and at the same time put her hand to her ear to call Merc. The comm was not there, someone must have noticed it when they brought her in, but the memory card was.

Faith pulled it out and looked at it. "Max Patel," she thought, "who are you?"

Suddenly it occurred to her that Kate had died and she felt emotion sweep over her, at first it was just tears. An unlimited amount of possibilities had just been taken away by the pull of a trigger.

Her mind raced: "I could have gotten her out. I could have taught her how to run. This didn't have to be this way!"

Eventually she calmed down and began to think about her future.

"I'm caught, ok what can they convict me of? Assault on an officer? Every package I've delivered? Not all of them were illegal... A maximum of what? 20 years? 30?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to the cell hallway being opened. A man in a suit and an officer came through. The suit seemed to be angry at the officer. His voice had the faintest bit of a British accent.

"And he just shot her! Do you realize how valuable she was!" yelled the suit.

The officer responded in his politest voice possible, "Yes sir he did, and once he recovers he will be dealt with. And yes I do realize how important Ms. Connors was."

"Where is she?" asked the suit, his voice calming down.

"Third cell on the right."

The two walked down and the officer unlocked the door. Faith looked up at them from where she sat. Her eyes were a still a little bloodshot, but mentally she had composed herself.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" asked the officer.

"No, you've done quite enough," snapped the suit.

The officer turned to leave, glanced back at Faith, then left.

"Ms. Connors, I do not know if you were aware of your sisters... role in our projects on Pandora. Forgive me, my name is Mr. Rider, you can call me Alex if you like. We at the RDA would like to express are most sincere condolences..." his voice suddenly lost the business like tone. Ironically he continued with: "I'm going to get straight to business with you Faith, you don't want to hear that PR bull. I've got a way out of this cell."

"Oh yah?" asked Faith sarcastically, "And what is that?"

"We need you take your sister's place," he said earnestly.

"Take my sister's place at PK? You do realize what I do, don't you?"

"I know what you are Faith, but that doesn't matter at this stage. There are millions of dollars riding on you know," then a little quieter, "among other things."

"What makes you think I would give up my lovely little cell here?" she asked.

Alex was starting to lose control of the volume of his voice.

"This cell won't seem so lovely after 20 years!" he yelled, "and that's just for the assault."

"So what is my other option?" asked Faith, finally standing up.

"Your sister was part of the avatar program. We spent months training her for this, and millions on getting her and her other self out there."

"And you want me to take her place," said Faith turning her back to Alex. "Fine, but on a few conditions."

"I don't think your in a spot to be making demands," started Alex.

"Oh really? I would think that several million dollars would say differently."

"I'm giving you your life back, what the hell else do you want!" shouted Alex.

"Relax, all I want is my clothes a couple sizes larger."

Faith say patiently on her bed. She was in a room the RDA had provided her so that they could brief her on the basics of Pandora. Not that they could do much in the three days be for launch. She was told who she would be reporting to, where she would be staying, and an overview on her role there.

Faith thought back briefly over what she had been told. It had been her and some guy in a wheel chair at the briefing. Given her status she wasn't allowed to socialize with him.

"You will be providing security for the researches in the Avatar program. You'll be reporting to Dr. Grace Augustine..."

She hadn't really listen to the rest. She was thinking about leaving Earth. Everyone she knew wouldn't know what happened to her. The rest of the runners would be on an edge, they'd expect the capture of a runner to be a big event in the news. And when she did get back they might be in jail or worse. At the least they would have stopped running after 16 year.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Faith grunted for the visitor to come in. An electronic lock clicked and the door opened. It was the Englishmen from the police station.

"What was his name?" thought Faith, "Alex or something."

He held a bag out to Faith, "Here is everything that you requested."

Faith took the bag from him and emptied it onto her bed. A black tank top, white cargo pants, a pair gloves, and a pair of shoes.

"You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get these," said Alex.

"What there's no Na'vi clothing lines?" said Faith sarcastically.

"No, there are only winter clothes in the stores now."

In addition to the clothes there was a small gun like object and a bottle of black ink.

"I'm going to need these back, along with any other personal belongings you're taking with you."

Faith took the memory card out of her pocket and slipped it underneath the sole of her shoe. It was the only thing she had from her sister, and she wasn't going to lose it. To her surprise there was a small comm unit taped inside the shoe already. She grabbed it when Alex wasn't looking and pocketed it quickly.

"You're going to need to change into your cryo outfit, I'll be back in few minutes to retrieve you and your belongings," said Alex as he turned to leave.

The door slid shut and the sound of an electronic lock could be heard. Faith grabbed the comm and turned it on.

Warily, Faith hit the talk button and whispered, "Hello?"

A familiar voice came on, "Well it's about time kiddo."

Shocked, Faith responded with: "Merc how did you find me?"

"Don't you mind that, just tell me what's going on. I know you don't wear size 20 shoes."

"They killed Kate," started Faith, faltering a little. Her voice sobered up, "and then they caught me."

"Keep going, they might notice activity on this frequency."

"They cut me a deal, I don't go to jail if I work for them. On Pandora."

"Where?" asked Merc incredulously.

"Pandora, apparently they need me to take Kate's place. She got drafted into the Avatar program when the RDA bought PK."

"Shit Faith, how long are you going to be out there?" asked Merc, a noticeable worry in his voice.

"16 years." A silence followed this last transmission. "Merc?"

Merc's voice sounded like he was fighting back tears, "Yah, I'm here Faith. Listen just don't get yourself killed while you're out there."

"Mercury..." started Faith but was stopped by the sound of knocking on the door interpreted her.

"Ready yet? The next shuttle doesn't leave for another couple of months you know," said Alex.

"Just give me a minute," called Faith. She lowered her voice, "Merc, I've got to go. I'll miss you guys."

Faith took the comm off and slipped it in her pocket. It wouldn't be any use to her, but she kept it anyway. Quickly she took of her clothes and stuffed everything she had into the bag.

She opened one of the few drawers in the room and took out the white cryo outfit. She pulled the top on as the door slid open. She did a 180 degree turn and faced Alex who tapped his watch to signal it was time to leave. Faith grabbed the bag and tossed it to him.

"Alright," sighed Faith, "let's go."


	3. Point 3

**So this is chapter 3, I may get chapter 4 up before the 28th this month, but if not it will be up in two months or so. The reason for that is that I'm going to be out camping/hiking/rafting/sailing/scuba in Australia the rest of the summer. Sorry about that, anyway enjoy what's here now.**

Faith woke with a start. Drops of water were floating above her. She took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. The lights in the small tube she was strapped into were glowing faint a faint whitish blue. It reminded Faith of ice, which made sense seeing as she had been virtually frozen for the past six years. Everything was numb and she couldn't move anything.

Slowly and with great trepidation the feeling in her legs and arms came back. They had had a rough six years with the myriad of fluids that had kept them at bay during the flight to Alpha Centauri. It started with the toes and fingertips coming online, the numbness fading to a slight tingling, which itself faded away completely.

Just as Faith finally finished pulling herself together, the tube made a small noise as it unsealed like that of a refrigerator. It sounded a little out of place in her mind. _Weren't these kind of things supposed to make a depressurizing noise or something? _She was sure that if Hollywood had taught her anything, it was the importance of a good sounding seal break. This thought passed quickly as there were more important matters at hand like that of figuring out where the hell she was.

The bed that she was strapped on slid out, and a man dressed like a doctor floated up to her.

"Who are you?" asked Faith to the man dressed like a doctor.

The man dressed like a doctor answered with a thick Australian accent, "I'm a doctor, mate, got to make sure everything is okay with yah."

"Where... where are we?" asked Faith, who had vague flashes of memory that told her she didn't want to know.

"We're on Pandora, well orbiting Pandora, well maybe 5 minutes from orbit."

Faith's conscious decided it had had enough and stepped out. The doctor, who was dressed like a doctor, noticed that and frowned.

"Who was this girl," he thought, "and why is she falling back asleep after 6 years of it?"

He decided that he wasn't going to stand for it and pushed a small red button on Faith's bed which pumped in a small amount of peptic salve and adrenaline.

"That should take care of that," he thought.

Faith's conscious was in for a nasty shock. It was as if someone who had just finally laid down on the beach was dragged instantly back into their office. A few words flashed through Faith's mind, "Pandora, Kate, Na'vi." Her eyes opened as her memory settled back down. She glanced down and saw that the tubes in her arms had been removed, presumably by the doctor. All that was holding her in place was one strap, which Faith removed.

Floating, she found her locker. It took her a little bit of time since she had been looking for F. Connors instead of K. Connors. The lockers seemed to be more by group than any sort of alphabetical order, which is important because it caused her to stumble upon the man looking for the locker labeled T. Sully. She only spoke to him briefly and without real conversation before the Australian man dressed like a doctor told them to go to their respective changing rooms.

Faith grabbed her bag, and with a slight kick propelled herself to the women's changing area. She had managed to keep her old clothes, although it took some effort to persuade those in charge to let her. She would be damned, however, to wear the military issue camo outfit. She had also managed to keep her yellow runner's bag along with the standard issue bag she had been forced to use to carry her stuff. It wasn't that she had brought a lot, it was just that it was more than something the size of a briefcase could carry.

She slipped off her surgical gown, replacing it with a black tank top and white cargo pants. Digging through her bag, she moved the military issued boots away to find her three red items. Two of these were shoes, and the other a glove.

"Just one glove?" she thought. "Oh well, it's better than nothing."

She put the glove and shoes on, trying and failing to not think about where the other glove had gotten to. She zipped up the bag, having to shuffle her much larger set of clothing to get it to close. Unfortunately for her she failed to notice the larger left glove float out of the bag and off to go annoy someone else on the ship. Incidentally that someone was the Australian man dressed like a doctor.

She glanced around and saw everyone was heading off in the direction marked "Port 2" and followed them.

On the Valkyrie shuttle Faith found her place next to a man who she thought looked like someone had spent more time inside than out, which happened to be true. His appearance was further emphasized by the marine sitting next to him who looked as if his sole purpose was to show that yes, in fact you can fit that much muscle in a single person.

After everyone locked themselves in for the trip the man looked at Faith, and an expression of confusion spread across his face.

"You think your'e going to get on to the base wearing that?" he asked.

Like everyone else, he was dressed in a selection of military and RDA clothing, and his question was brought up mainly because he hated that fact.

Faith turned her head to look at him, "Yah, what's going to stop me?"

The man responded, "Just about everyone ranking above you that's who. You know how tight a ship they run down there, and they'll turn anyone around who steps out of line."

"The man must have actually paid attention during the briefings back on Earth," thought Faith.

"No I don't think so, they've just paid god knows what to fly me out here and probably double that for my twin floating down in the hold," said Faith.

"Oh my god, you must be Faith, Kate's sister. I'm sorry I should have recognized you. Can't say I actually saw much of her... I'm Norm by the way," he said. "We trained together, not much since she was more on the security side. I'm guessing you are too."

Norm finished the last sentence in a manner that wasn't distinctly malevolent, but there was a hint of distaste in the way he spoke about it.

"I'm no mercenary," said Faith, with feeling, "and neither was Kate. We were both victims of circumstance."

Gradually the conversation lightened up a bit as the shuttle plunged on through the void and into the upper atmosphere.

"You know," said Norm, "I couldn't help but notice that there are two replacement avatar drivers. Have you met Jake Sully?"

"Yah, but only in passing."

"What are the odds, two twins," said Norm as he attempted to lean back but was shaken as they hit they touched down.

An officer started drilling them on their masks, and the last thing Faith could hear Norm say was to meet up in the bio lab. Faith locked her mask into place, and seconds later she could see the heat haze flood in as the bay door opened. Grabbing her gear she leapt up and made off toward the loading bay with everyone else. The officer who had drilled everyone about the masks saw her and her not so official outfit. He started to say something, but Faith cut him short with two fingers in the air and marched on.


	4. Point 4

**So this may be the last chapter for a long time unless I get bored on the flight to LA. If I don't get anything up by next Monday then there will be nothing until mid-August (or late July if that happens by some ****miracle). Also you may enjoy this picture of Avifaith: www . tinyurl . com/avifaith (separated to avoid filter)**

**Have a good summer (or winter) everyone!**

Point 4

The walk across the tarmac was both hot and humid, which were an annoying combination. The jungle may provide some shade, but at here there was nothing but the hard black surface looking up at you resolutely making sure that you remained uncomfortable.

Faith walked on, following the others to the cafeteria which was temporarily being used as a meeting hall. As she approached the door she was stopped by a man that Faith could only describe as Duke Nukem.

"Where do you think you're going, little missy?" said the man.

Faith chuckled quietly, "Do you honestly need to ask me?"

"Well, I can't imagine where with you dressed like that," responded the Duke Nukem impersonator in a slowish sort of drawl.

"Oh really? And who are you to care?"

"I'm head of the security on Pandora, and it's my job to keep you safe."

"Well, when I feel threatened I'll be sure not to tell you," answered Faith and let herself get swept on with the crowd.

The head of security wasn't used to this kind of behavior around him. Well, there was always Grace, but it always surprised him that she had the balls to stand up to him. Him of all people, who had taken so much care in making sure that his appearance gave the impression that he was not a man to be trifled with.

"Wouldn't it be just my luck," he thought, "if this chick ended up with Grace."

He couldn't bare to think about the hell that would be. She looked a little familiar though, a bit like that girl he had drafted in as "security" for the Avatar team. She had died or something hadn't she? It didn't matter, apparently a marine was taking the place of someone else, and he would be a fine substitute for whatever her name was.

He walked in and started his usual speech with his favorite line from the Wizard of Oz. Not many people got it, but he had been told the story as a kid and never forgotten it. For those who did get it, well good for them.

His speech continued on with: "You must follow the rules," glancing at Faith, who rolled her eyes, "Pandora rules."

"Well, look what we have hear," he thought as a man rolled in on a wheel chair, "affirmative action strikes again."

The man terminated this thought an instant later because of how awful it seemed to him. To say that he was a kind man would be like saying that penguins live in Florence. Both of these are not true, and if they were true, something would clearly be wrong with the universe. Nevertheless, a part of him had told him to stuff this thought so clearly he wasn't all bad was he. He wasn't sure.

The speech continued on and Faith began to tune it out. The concepts he was relaying were relatively simple and obvious behaviors, but still something must have happened for it to be necessary to spell it out in such detail or maybe perhaps nothing ever did because of it. Her eyes to drifted onto the chair confined marine. She had seen him before in her brief training the week before she left. Hadn't Norm said something about him being a replacement? Well, he must have been if he was stuck in Pandora 101 with her. Faith didn't know this of course, but the subtly irony of the universe had switched the two Avatar bodies' roles to a degree.

Eventually the man who bore a striking resemblance to Duke Nukem finished his speech and everyone started to move to their respective areas. Faith stood up, looked around for Norm, failed to see him, dropped her bag by her room stopping to take out one small item just in case the time was right, and set off down a hall marked as the science department. It didn't actually say "Science Department" anywhere in the hall, but it was the only hall that the marines weren't walking in.

Eventually she came to a friendly looking lab technician who, when asked, escorted her to where she needed to be.

"We've just started unloading you're avatar Ms..."

"Connors, Faith Connors. Just call me Faith."

"Alright Faith," said the young lab technician enthusiastically, "let me show you the new you."

The two of them walked up to a large, clear blue tank which housed a single occupant. The occupant was tall, much taller than any human and blue. The look on Faith's face was of amazement and wonder. The lab technician let Faith take it in for awhile, then quietly excused herself, pointing Faith towards the link room for when she was ready to meet with Dr. Augustine.

Eventually she tore herself away from her other self and walked into the link room. When she walked in, the room was quiet but active. She walked into the center and tapped a man on the back the shoulder. He in turn spun around to address her. He was not fat but more on the heavy side. He wore glasses and a beard.

"I'm looking for a Dr. Augustine," said Faith, raising her voice at the end in a question like tone that many people had trouble with distinguishing.

"She's in a link right now, should be out in a few minutes," replied the man. "Are you by chance Faith?"

"Yes..." started Faith, preparing to continue on with more of an introduction.

"I'm Max, and... Hang on, do you know where the other two are?"

Faith shook her head.

"Right, well I need to find them before Grace gets out. Sorry about the brief introduction," yelled Max as he walked out of the room.

The name Max floated through Faith's head, but couldn't find a place to settle into. Obviously today had been a bit taxing on her, what with the whole new planet thing, but a small part of her brain was not at ease. The rest of her brain was also not at ease, but at least it had a chance of calming down at the end of the day.

A minute or two later the lab technician from earlier walked in, glanced at Faith, then at a security monitor. Her expression went to mild calm to abject fear. From the security feeds she could see the Avatar bunker and the several people about to lie down in it.

"Damn it, who has a cigarette?" blurted the lab technician, glancing round the room and at Faith.

"Don't look at me, I just got here," said Faith feeling a bit confused.

The lab technician ran down to the link pods as it opened. Out of it stepped one Doctor Grace Augustine moody and tired. Faith could tell it must be her because of the way the technician had freaked out.

"Where's my cigarette? Guys what's wrong with this picture?"

Faith glanced at a chair and just out of the corner of her eye could see what appeared to be a box inside a lab coat hanging on the back of it. The box did happen to be a cigarette carton, and next to it was a lighter. Grabbing both, Faith whipped round a tossed the carton towards Grace.

"Think fast Doc!"

Grace's hand reached out and caught it. Hoping over the railing Faith flicked the lighter open and held it up for Grace.

After she took a few drags Grace felt it necessary to ask, "And just who might you be sweetheart?"

"Kate's sister"

"And I'm guessing they just asked you to come here," said Grace a little unpleasantly.

"They didn't exactly ask, it was more like choosing between a rock and a hard place," responded Faith.

Grace looked Faith up and down, "you're not a merc (Faith cringed a little because of who the word reminded her of), you're not RDA, you have no history I could read up on. Why?"

"My profession had an unstable relationship with my sister's, let's just stay I stayed out of the books"

As she said this Norm, Max, and the wheelchair bound Jake walked and rolled into the room. This caused Grace to cut the conversation a bit short. Max had a bit of banter with Grace, which was followed by a conversation with Norm in Na'vi, and then turned to the abuse of Jake. After Grace had built up a sufficient rage she stalked out of the room to bring that anger to Selfridge. Max told us to be here tomorrow morning, and to Jake to use big words.

Turning towards Faith he asked, "So how did you're introduction go before we came?"

"Better than his, but it got cut short. If she picks it up again I could give Jake here a run for his money," responded Faith dryly.

Max was called away to help with moving the avatars out, and Norm followed to help leaving Faith and Jake alone. Faith turned to Jake to finally introduce herself to him.

"Faith Connors," said Faith Connors.

"Jake Sully," said Jake, holding his hand out. "Didn't we train together?"

Faith, unlike Grace, did the polite thing and shook his hand and said, "Yes we did, sorry if I wasn't all there. I had a lot on my mind then," she kicked her foot dejectedly on the ground and murmured "still do."

"I know what you mean," said Jake sympathetically. He had been through the same thing at the same time.

An awkward silence attempted to take hold of the conversation, but Norm and Max reemerged from the airlock.

"We've got them all set for tomorrow, just don't sleep in late if you want to take them out. We don't keep them in here, normally they're locked up in the shack. You can come see them if you want. It's probably the only time you'll see them up close without being them," said Max.

"You really should," said Norm, "it's a weird experience."

Jake respectfully declined on the grounds that it might spoil tomorrow and set off to the bunks with Norm. Faith on the other hand was interested in being up close with her other self, very interested if this was the only time she would.

Norm let her in and said, "Take your'e time Faith, I've got other things to do. You'll be alright by yourself won't you?"

"I can open an air lock Max, but thanks for the interest. Really, it's nice to see a smiling face for once."

He left and Faith went up to the window to make sure that no one else was in the room. To her delight no one was, and she slipped out the small device she had managed to get just before she left. The device was vaguely gun shaped, but hand a pointy needle thin tip and a small glass reservoir filled with black ink. Faith found an antiseptic wipe in the expanse of medical supplies in the room.

Wiping around her avatar's eye she thought, "This is going to hurt _me_ more than it hurts me."


	5. Point 5

So I'm back from Australia! This means I can actually work on the story this week before I leave for another two weeks. I hope to post some more before I leave, but I doubt I will have much more time to write. Anyway enjoy! Oh and Hitchhiker's fans, enjoy this little reference.

* * *

Her eyes open in an instant, and she was instantly blinded.

"What the hell is that light," she thought miserably.

Then a shadow moved in front of her and her eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the room. What had happened was this, someone had open the shutters, flooding the room with morning sunlight that, when one is properly adjusted to it, danced like butterflies on a perfect day.

"Sorry," said the figure in response to the moan Faith let out involuntarily when confronted with the light. "My names Trudy, your roommate."

"I'm Faith," said Faith letting out a yawn. "Sorry, I'm not normally like this when I wake up..."

"Don't worry about, everyone feels the effects of 6 years in cryo," said Trudy adding: "You should get up and eat soon, this place runs on a tight schedule."

Meanwhile a scientist of no particular importance, at least not to the monitoring of the avatars walked through the avatar room to find some tea. His name was Arthur Dent, he was tall, English, and always seemed to sort of wander through life. The name was entirely coincidence, in fact his life seemed to be nothing but coincidences. Alpha Centauri was the first place away from Earth he had ever been, and he had flown there on the RDA ship called "Heart of Gold." Someone had once suggested to him that he go ahead and read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to see what was in store for him, but he had declined on the fact that he didn't like spoilers.

As Arthur walked by he glanced at the three avatar bodies and noticed something odd about one.

"Oi Frank!" he shouted.

"What Arthur?" responded Frank, another scientist.

"Take a look at this one over here," said Arthur, jerking his thumb back towards the glass separating the avatars from the humans.

"We should get someone" said Frank decisively.

"You ready yet?" asked Trudy, turning around to look at Faith.

"Almost"

"What are you doing?" asked Trudy incredulously.

Faith realized that what she was doing might look a little odd. When she ran she always tied her pant legs down with a thin black rope.

"Sorry old habit," mumbled Faith quietly.

"I don't need to know, anyway I'll show you to the cafeteria, but I need to run diagnostics on my bird."

A few images of helicopters chasing her over rooftops flashed through Faith's mind.

"Thanks Trudy."

Faith had somehow ended up with a glass of orange juice and ham and cheese croissant for breakfast. This wasn't exactly the expected breakfast for someone out so far from Earth, but she decided just to go with it. She was reassured by one of the kitchen staff that the new chef was quite good and had been specially flown in for one Mr. Selfridge. Apparently on the same flight Faith was on. Obviously he had faired better than Faith this morning.

"He's quite a looker too," continued the girl from the kitchen (to the second hand embarrassment of Faith). She added, "you should check him out, might be your type of guy."

"Oh god," thought Faith as she put her palm to her face.

She looked up to see Max and Grace looking at her inquisitively as the walked over.

"Faith," said Max, "when you got your tattoos... was there anything special in the procedure?"

"No, why?"

"Let's just show her," said Grace turning toward the science section.

The three walked swiftly through the corridors and ended up at her avatar. Faith stared in silent awe. The tattoos were still there from last night, just different.

"I only asked because of this," said Max, his voice matching Faith's silence in terms of wonder.

What was different was this, where there had been a black circuit diagram and arrows was now the same design, only glowing a bright bluish white.

"The thing that doesn't make any since is of course that unless someone has now worked out how to genetically encode a tattoo like design into someones DNA this is impossible. Also your sister would have to have had the same design, which according to her picture she didn't," finished Max.

"Care to elaborate?" asked Grace in a manor that wasn't exactly mean or evil, but definitely wasn't on the nice end on the scale of tones.

"So I'm the first," said Faith.

"First that I've seen mate," called Frank from across the room.

Grace gave Frank a look that would make a Siberian tiger shiver.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," said Faith.

Grace walked up to Faith, "You got lucky this time kiddo."

Flashes of Merc went through her mind.

Grace headed towards the exit then turned, "But the next time you want to inject the multi-million dollar other self of yours with something, run it by me first."


	6. Point 5 plus

I'm really sorry that this some how never got posted.

* * *

Point 5.5

Grace headed towards the exit then turned, "But the next time you want to inject the multi-million dollar other self of yours with something, run it by me first." She turned and then glanced back once more to say: "Oh and Faith, don't give the others any ideas. We are supposed to be getting closer to the Na'vi after all, so the less human the better." Then with one last turn she walked out of the room.

Max turned and looked at Faith, "I wouldn't worry about her, she just gets... paranoid about things sometimes. Things haven't been going well with human-na'vi relations..."

There was a pause, and eventually Faith had to ask Max to continue.

"I'd rather not talk about it now Faith, ask Grace," said Max in a way the subliminally told Faith that she had hit a very raw spot on the avatar team.

Grace reentered the room with Norm and Jake following her. It was time to go. Grace asked the two how much link time they had logged and directed them to their link pods. Like Faith, Jake had logged nothing and she chastised him for it. When they started to power up she walked over to Faith.

"Let me guess, zero hours?" asked Grace in a not spiteful but not altogether nice way.

"Yes, but at least I don't have to learn how to walk again," said Faith lying down on her pod.

"You'll be loading up in a minute Faith. The staff can only handle two at a time."

Faith ideally passed the hours that were actually minutes or even seconds taping her fingers. This was exciting, she was going to do it. It hadn't occurred to her until now that this was going to be a momentous occasion. She wasn't interrupted however, by the sounds of shouting from behind the glass. Sitting up she could see Jake's other form knocking things over with his tail.

"Oh god," she thought unworriedly, "this marine is going to get himself killed."

He ran out followed by Norm, who looked so nervous that it was a surprise to everyone that he was capable of bodily function. Max glanced around the room and landed on Faith, who shrugged. It was out of his hands now.

Eventually Norm came back to run some tests, or rather have tests run on him. Then the team turned to Faith. Someone enter a few commands into her touchscreen and the pod began to close. Faith was surrounded by a gentle green light and an ever increasing humming noise. Suddenly she could feel something in her mind, not probing it but simply looking around in a way someone might survey a mountain vista. This feeling grew slightly, but the more it grew, the more it felt like Faith was the one surveying her own mind. The sound was growing louder, but it became harder and harder to notice. Suddenly Faith suddenly felt as if she knew herself entirely as an outsider, and her mind was whisked away through what can only be described as a wormhole. On several occasions people have claimed to see a blue box flying through it, but this has never been adequately explored so it can and should be ignored.

Faith opened her eyes to see a blurry light. Where they her eyes? They certainly didn't feel like they were, but if they weren't then how could she open them? Something was starting to register in her mind, it wasn't her arms or legs. No those were all there, this other thing... what the hell was this thing?

Her eyes faded and a man and woman came into view. The man was holding the annoying light causing her vision to blur, and the woman was snapping her fingers around Faith's ears. They said something Faith couldn't adequately make out. It dawned on her that this extra limb she was feeling was her tail.

"Welcome to your new body Faith," said the woman.

Faith looked down and became ecstatic, she started to notice things she hadn't noticed before. New smells and sounds were cropping up everywhere, although not particularly the nicest ones occupied the room. She started to feel giddy, but she remembered what Jake had just done and calmed herself down. She hadn't felt like this, well, not since her first job as a runner.

The test took an agonizingly long time, while in reality only took about five or so minutes. Finally she was cleared and, after putting on her oversized clothes she had managed to secure back on Earth (although she was, to her surprise, somehow missing her left glove), stepped outside. She could see why Jake hadn't come back inside. Slowly she breathed and looked to the left, towards the obstacle course. The obstacle course just so happened to be multistory and built close together.

She ran, breathing in the new world as she went. She came to a wall and, in a manor that seemed to defy all sense of the laws of universe, wall ran across it. Pushing herself off she landed on the second story platform and kept running. As she came to the end she wall ran again and jumped across a ten foot gap onto a ramp and slid down it. Landing she ran and jumped to the next section. A twelve foot fence was a mere hurdle for her. She pulled herself up and grabbed a thick wire that ran across a 30 foot gap down to a lower platform and used at as a zip-line. Jumping up again she got up another few stories and, with perfect balance, crossed from one platform to another across a thin metal beam. Finally she ran out of space to run and jumped down from the third story, rolling at the end and recovering fast right in front of grace.

"That's pretty good," said Grace in a failed attempt to hide her astonishment. "What did you say you used to do?"

"I'm a runner," said Faith shortly.

"A runner, how stupid are they," said Grace.

"Sorry?" said Faith in an effort to get Grace to explain.

"They brought you out here to the most tightly controlled places. You, an expert in getting around surveillance," said Grace in a tone that might have been cousins with sarcasm.

This information seemed to bring Grace's defenses down a bit. Clearly it would take more to gain her trust, but it was a step away from the RDA so that must have helped a little or so Faith thought (quite rightly). The two walked off to rejoin the rest of the group.


	7. Point 6

Here is where the story is going to change a little or a lot. I like what happens, and I'm sticking with it. It could lead to some rather interesting events. Thanks for waiting, I've been busy with school.

* * *

Point 6

It had been a busy first week for Faith. Learning to use her avatar didn't take long thanks to her advantages as a runner. She was in control, but she had to prove it before they would let her out. This proved to only take a day, but no one else was ready for field work. There were two obstacle courses now: the one everyone trained on and the one Faith trained on. Faith's course involved every bit of scaffold that was used to hold up everyone else's. But it wasn't just avatar training for her, in the mornings people could see her running it with a slimmed down exo-pack she had managed to scavenge from a friend of Trudy.

This day started like any other for Faith, she got up and grabbed a light breakfast before going out to the training course in her exo-pack. She leapt from platform to platform, rolling when necessary. This was her passion, it was a time when she could be alone. Not exactly, actually. As she leapt down from a particularly high ledge she saw a figure of a man in the distance on the course. The figure seemed to have noticed that Faith had seen her and ran for the air lock. He was closer, but Faith was fast. She sprinted for it and nearly ran into the door as it closed.

"Damn it!" thought Faith aloud.

After what seemed like an eternity she got in and went through the air lock herself. However the hallway was empty of anyone who could have been the man. In fact it was pretty much empty of anyone except for Frank, one of the lab techs from England who Grace hated, and he didn't count really since he was half asleep.

"Frank did you see anyone run by?" asked Faith out of breath and apprehensively.

"Some big fellow just ran by, but I didn't see which way he went. Sorry love," said Frank.

"Damn it!" yelled Faith, kicking at a door.

To Faith's slight surprise the door opened and Grace walked through with Norm in toe.

"Faith we're leaving at 09 hundred hours. Loading bay 5, see you on the chopper," said Grace in a sort of efficient yap.

Faith snapped to attention in a mocking manor as she walked by, "Yes ma'am!"

Grace looked back and smiled, lazily saying: "At ease..." as she went.

Faith glimpsed Norm's face and saw a stupid grin, which told Faith that he was coming too. Norm was rubbish on the course, but he had managed to get through it once. Jake Sully seemed to be part of the group, but the others didn't seem to like him much. He was security detail, and it was pretty clear how the science team felt about the other half of the Pandoran staff. Thinking to herself, Faith realized how little she new about him. He seemed kind enough, but she sensed some sort of jealousy. It may have had to do with how he couldn't walk and she could run an obstacle course most people couldn't in their avatars.

Glancing at a clock she realized she only had fifteen minutes and headed for the link room.

"They just got in Faith," said a lab technician waving to the three active pods. "You might want to get a move on, Doctor Augustine has been know to leave people behind if they don't show up on time."

Faith walked over to her link pod and lay down. The lid closed, and the pod slid smoothly back into the chamber. The noise was deafening as always, but the time it took to establish a link had decreased dramatically do to frequent use. Less than a second later, and several hundred meters away, Faith opened her eyes. She stood up and put on her shoes. Sure they would get completely covered in mud or whatever was out there, but she liked being able to run. The others could stick to their standard issued boots.

She got up, her tail swishing and ears swiveling. These were the two things that still caught her of guard whenever she linked, and it always took a moment to get used to them. Looking around she was surprised to Jake waiting for her.

"You ready to go?" asked Jake.

"Sure," she said, walking towards the door.

The walk turned into a jog as they headed out toward the landing pad. When they got there Trudy had already started up the engines, and Grace, Norm, and some soldier were already in it.

"What was his name?" thought Faith, "Wain or something..."

They got in and dutifully listened to Grace's semi-sarcastic "what took you so long" remark as Trudy lifted them into the air.

At first there was just jungle, which is not to say that the jungle itself wasn't spectacular to Faith, but after five minutes the real show began. All the sudden the land dropped a mile and they were out in a amazing array of valleys. Waterfalls fell down hundreds of feet, Pandoran animals flew, ran, and swam all around them. This was, in short, a truly alive world. Faith, Jake, and Norm had never seen anything like this before and couldn't contain themselves. Grace smiled at their exuberance, and Trudy laughed a little to herself.

Eventually they found a clearing large in the trees large enough to set down and the four hopped out.

Grace told Trudy to shut the bird down, then turned to the marine. She promptly insulted him and told him to stay with Trudy.

Walking through the forest was a dream come true. This was a very colorful change from the sterile rooftops Faith was used to. Grace seemed to be enjoying herself, Norm was dumb struck, these seemed like acceptable reactions. Jake, on the other hand, was different. Faith detected a small amount of nervousness under his exuberance. Maybe it was that this was to close to a war Jake had fought, but the nervousness seemed to be the fact that Grace was near. Never mind that, this was fun.

Eventually Grace told Norm to take some samples, and the two of them got to work on a tree root. Faith watched with mild interest as the two of them watched the screen diligently. Out of the corner of her eye Faith could see Jake wander off, but she thought nothing of it. That is until they heard the noise.

Jake had apparently gotten into a fight with an oversized rhino and was about to fire if not for Grace stopping him. He managed to scare it off with his dumb ass taunts, so he thought, but behind what could only be described as the Pandoran equivalent of a panther leapt over Jake.

"So what about this one? Run? Don't run? What?" asked Jake, fear in his voice.

"Run, defiantly run!" yelled Grace.

He ran as the others watched him get chased. Hell they didn't want to get eaten. They could hear gunfire and roars, then silence. They tried the comms, but Jake wasn't talking. Eventually they decided to follow and came up to a waterfall. The ground should marks of what had just happened.

"He probably jumped," said Faith.

"We need to get back to Trudy, ASAP," said Grace.

"And what leave him hear," argued Faith.

"Will look for him from above," said Grace.

"You can't see a thing through here, if we leave he dies," said Faith.

"If we stay, we die," said Grace.

"I'm not leaving," said Faith and promptly turned and dove down. She wasn't thinking clearly, stress never lets you do. If she had been she might not have lost her comm as well. Climbing to shore she could see Grace and Norm looking at her. She pointed to her ear to show she had lost her comm. The two up top turned and left at that.

"She probably doesn't even care about us, like a marine and a runner have any purpose on this moon..." thought Faith. "Oh god what the hell am I doing here..."

Faith walked silently through the forest. Something instinctual had come over her that allowed her to move without making much noise, nothing on par with the Na'vi though. She had to find Jake, this excuse for a marine was going to die if left alone for the night. However there wasn't much to follow other than broken sticks and smashed plant life, but it was something to follow though.

Faith decided to ascend to the trees, this was somewhere she had the upper hand in. No one on Earth could out run her, and she was willing to bet she could outrun anyone on this moon.

Eventually she saw Jake, but to her dismay he was not alone. A female Na'vi was poised on a branch below her, bow ready to send an arrow strong enough to kill Jake in an instant.

She climbed from limb to limb slowly as not to alert the Na'vi aiming for Jake.

"She thinks she has him does she," thought Faith, "It's not that damn easy."

Just as the female Na'vi was about to fire, a floating, well, floating something, hell Faith had no idea what it was, came down and landed on the arrow. This seemed to giver her a momentary pause, and Faith leaped at that opportunity. Jumping down to the branch the female Na'vi sat on, Faith grabbed at her, catching her queue and pulling her head back.

"Before you go off and kill my friend, consider this..." started Faith, only to be interrupted by the female Na'vi lashing out and grabbing at Faith's queue in attempt to disable her. To her dismay, Faith didn't lose her grip, but it did cause a pain to flash across her face.

The two of them stood stead fast on the branch, each with the other's queue in hand, their other hand pushing against the other, and each with anger and pain in their eyes. What happened next was the product of an insanely improbable reaction. What was so insane was not what they did, but the fact that they both did it... at the same time.

They both moved there hand right in front of the other as to attempt to signal a sort of truce, not knowing that the other was going to do the same. Their hands knocked together and a link was formed. This was not a link of love, there was no blocking of memories or emotions, this was not something before Eywa. In that instant each new the other's past, why they were where they were and what the other was feeling right now.

The moment past and they yanked themselves away from each other, not moving their eyes for a second.

"What just happened?" asked Faith in perfect Na'vi. Though she hadn't realized it yet, she had just learned a new language faster than anyone had ever before.

"I think you know what happened Faith," answered the Na'vi, now known to Faith as Neytiri, in perfect English. Turning, Neytiri jumped down and said, "let's go watch your friend."

"I need to bring him back to the base..." started Faith.

"I may trust you" said Neytiri, pausing to let what had just happened sink in again, "but I don't trust him and neither do you."


	8. Point 7

So I hope everyone reading this is intrigued by the idea of the meeting of Faith and Neytiri's minds. Also I miss Merc.

* * *

Point 7

Time past as they followed Jake in an entirely new manner. Faith had learned how to be a part of and blend into the forest (she had caught Neytiri distracted early), and Neytiri, although already skilled at moving through the forest, had learned how to not just how to move through the forest but how to run through it.

Why Faith was doing this, she couldn't tell you. Something in her memory, or Neytiri's memory had amplified her wariness of Jake. She had mixed feelings on the idea of having both human and Na'vi memories and suspected that Neytiri did to.

When Jake was out of earshot Neytiri turned to Faith and said, "So you actually jump from building to building?"

"Yah, it is, I mean it was my job. That's nothing compared to what you do though," said Faith.

"Well the forest is softer than concrete," said Neytiri insightfully. Pausing, she cleared her throat to indicate a more serious topic was at hand, "When we get back you cannot tell anyone about this, you know that."

"I do."

"I'm not going to act like this, my english will sound slightly broken," continued Neytiri. "I'd advise that it stay secret on the base as well."

"That's probably for the best."

"And lastly, I may be able to explain this to Mo'at, and, if we are very lucky, find a place for you in the clan in some way or another. As for Jake over there," said Neytiri nodding to her left, "we will probably need to get him out of here."

By this time night had fallen and Faith was getting her first real taste of Pandora's night life. The world was rich with bioluminescent plants glowing in a manner that would make most ravers pass out from sensory overload. It glowed a soft green-blue, brighter at their feet. Soft purples hung from trees. However they couldn't take in the beauty just yet. In the distance the sound of viperwolves echoed. Neytiri nodded toward Faith and they moved up into the trees and toward the sounds, towards Jake.

When they got there, the viperwolves had already started to circle Jake, and he seemed to be egging them on. One lashed out at him, but Jake was ready and beat it back. Others tried the same and Jake managed to hold them back until one knocked his torch away. Another viperwolf attempted to jump him, but to Jake's surprise the viperwolf was shot. Neytiri flew in, bow at the ready and fought off those surrounding him. Faith, armed only with Neytiri's spare blade picked off a few on the outside before they began to retreat.

Jake, not seeing Faith, tried to thank Neytiri as she went around making sure none of them were dying a slow and painful death. She scolded him for what she had done, saying that it was his fault.

"Why didn't you just let them kill my ass?" asked Jake.

"Because I asked her to help you," lied Faith.

"Faith? What are you doing here?" asked Jake.

"Helping save your sorry ass."

Neytiri began to walk off and Jake followed him with Faith keeping behind him. Faith knew that Neytiri didn't want Jake anywhere near the clan. She made it pretty obvious with her constant hisses at Jake telling him to go back. She never said anything about Faith though.

As they walked a swarm of tree spirits landed on Jake, astonishing Neytiri and intriguing Faith.

"This is one of those signs from Eywa," thought Faith.

After they tree spirits moved on Neytiri told them to follow her, and they did until something flew out and hit Jake around the ankles. Faith, getting a second to look down, saw something flying towards her and managed to jump out of the way.

Jake pulled his knife out, but dropped it when he saw how outnumbered he was.

Neytiri leapt over Jake to protect him from Tsu'tey who had just unmounted to go in for the kill. Faith stood behind her trying to look unimportant.

Neytiri made a valiant speech about how there was a sign and that it was not for Tsu'tey to decide Jake's fate.

"And who is she?" he asked.

"Me? Oh I'm a Faith, I mean Fä'ith. Really don't mind me Tsu'tey, I know you don't want me here, but it's him you should worry about" said Fä'ith, pointing to Jake.

Neytiri turned to Faith in a way that accurately conveyed that she may have just gotten her friend killed, not that she cared much but still.

"How does she know our language?" asked Tsu'tey.

"Rosetta Stone," mumbled Neytiri, then louder, "It's a long and complicated story, not for you to know. There's been a sign from Eywa, we need to take the male to father. As for her, let her tag along."

"Neytiri, you do not sound like yourself" said Tsu'tey with a small level of concern in his voice, not enough to appear weak but enough for Neytiri to catch it.

"I'm fine," said Neytiri defensively.

Tsu'tey regained his composure and grabbed Jake by the queue, saying: "Watch them closely."

"You heard about the two avatar drivers that got stuck Frank?" said Arthur as they walked through Hell's Gate cafeteria line.

"Yah, it's a shame, I felt something really happening between me and Faith," said Frank.

Arthur laughed and said, "In your dreams mate."

A large man with a few tattoos behind the counter came up to them and asked, "Did you say Faith?"

"What's it to you mate?" asked Frank, "You know her or something?"

They were lead into the base of Hometree up to Eytukan.

He asked why Neytiri had brought Jake and Faith here, and she calmly explained that there was a sign about Jake. He was just about to ask about Faith when Mo'at stepped in to talk to him.

After dealing with Jake, Mo'at turned to Faith. "And her?"

Neytiri walked up to Mo'at and whispered something in her ear. For a moment Mo'at looked stunned, then recomposed herself and dismissed everyone.

The three walked to a more secluded area so they could speak without fear of being overheard.

"What are you saying Neytiri?" asked Mo'at in Na'vi.

Neytiri explained the situation about how she was about to kill Jake, about Faith jumping her, about their standoff, and about the accidental tsaheylu.

"So I know everything she knows, and she knows everything I know," concluded Neytiri.

Faith and Neytiri waited for a reaction, Jake waited for them to finish. He was tired of them not speaking in a language that he could understand.

"So Fä'ith, you know who we are?" asked Mo'at.

"Yes, I do," answered Faith.

"You have to choose your path Fä'ith, which will it be, in the world of metal or a place among the people?"

"I've lived long enough in the concrete jungle, I'd rather be here."

"Do you trust her Neytiri?" asked Mo'at.

"As much as she trusts me. Completely."

Faith wasn't sure how she felt about the way Neytiri said that.

"Fä'ith, why do you have such a strange pattern on your face and arm?" asked Mo'at.

"It's hard to explain. It's something I added, like paint, that's permanent. I did it to myself as a sky person and to myself as a Na'vi. It was black, but apparently it's started glowing," said Faith. "It's called a tattoo."

"Well go Fä'ith and Jake Sully," said Mo'at in English, stretching out Jake's last name. Then in Na'vi, "And Neytiri, do not tell the others of what happened."

The three of them went off to get Faith and Jake something to wear. It crossed her mind that under different circumstances Neytiri would have no idea why humans are so skittish about nudity.

As they dressed, Jake asked: "Hey Faith, how do you know their language? You never said you did."

"I never said I didn't," answered Faith curtly. She then turned to face Jake, "Wow Jake, doesn't leave much room for the imagination."

"Yah, yah..." said Jake over Neytiri's slight giggle. He turned to Neytiri, "So you get humor then?"

Neytiri realized she might be acting too human and in a weak attempt to seem more Pandoran she said, "Not much," in a strained voice. Luckily for her Jake has never been considered the brightest of the bunch and didn't catch it.

Finally after going through the evening regime, the three retired to the hammocks. Jake had made a fool of himself and Faith had attempted to act like she didn't know what she was doing. The rest of the Na'vi seemed very interested in her tattoo.

They three jumped down on to their respective hammocks and fell asleep quickly. Well, one did. For Faith and Jake, they still had a lot to go through.

Faith's vision was blurry and someone was shining a light in her face. This seemed vaguely familiar. She didn't realize it, but she let a flurry of Na'vi curse words as she came up, getting a quick glance from those fluent, including Grace who was at Jake's side.

Still in a daze Faith looked around at the vague shapes that were coming into focus.

"You get lost in the woods kiddo?" asked a familiar deep voice.

"You could say that..." murmured Faith.

Slowly a large man with tattoos down his arms faded into view.

"Merc?" stammered Faith.

"The one and only," said Mercury.

He helped her up off the table and she hugged him. This was a friend she never expected to see again. Not ever.

From the corner Arthur said, "I told you she wasn't into you Frank."

"Come on Faith, let's get you something to eat. I am the chef after all," said Merc.

They sat in a room somewhere in the kitchen where Merc had brought some food in. Grace had insisted on talking to Faith, but she managed to get her to settle for Jake for the time being.

"So your the chef?" asked Faith between mouthfuls. She couldn't believe how much lying in a link chamber all day could take it out of you.

"Hey, I'm a good cook. Besides I couldn't let you fly away like that Faith, Cels out of the picture, Krieg left the city and Drake's retired. You were all I had," said Merc.

"Thanks Merc, that means more than you can imagine," said Faith.

"Did I see you out on the course?" asked Faith.

"Yah, you did. Didn't want to get in your way just yet, but you know me. I can't stay cooped up in the kitchen all day."

"I knew it," thought Faith.

"So what happened to you out there? Those guys seemed really worried about you."

Faith explained everything that happened that day, from Jake to Neytiri and their meeting of minds. She told them about how Neytiri was ordered to teach Jake and her unclear future with the clan.

"So what's it like, being a Na'vi and all?" aked Merc after Faith finished her story.

"Honestly," said Faith, turning her head away, "I don't know who I am anymore."


	9. Point 8

Ok before I begin, I'd like to acknowledge the "requests" for a relationship between Faith and Neytiri. It could happen, especially after what happens in this chapter. Also I did type out a lesbian sex scene last night at about 3 in the morning (because it seemed like a good idea at the time).

As for sticking to the movie storyline, let's just say certain characters will be different since this is a crossover. Events probably will be similar to the movie, but I'm sure you can guess who would be a bit different if someone was hanging around someone else instead of him. Or maybe they'll have a threesome, f*** I don't know. So if you see this change from a T story to an M, you know what's coming.

Oh and some crazy a** s*** is about to go down in this chapter.

* * *

Point 8

"Faith we need to talk," said Grace, "now."

Faith had managed to avoid Grace for a few hours catching up with Merc. She still couldn't believe he had managed to get here... as a chef.

"What is it Grace?" asked Faith with a weary tone in her voice.

"Jake says that you're friends with Neytiri, but you were only out there for a matter of hours. I know that girl, and ever since... well she's not exactly friends with us anymore," trailed off Grace.

Faith raked through Neytiri's memories for a moment until she stumbled upon one key memory.

"The school incident wasn't your fault Grace," said Faith.

"She just never forgave me..." said Grace, trailing off again.

"Of ever Na'vi in the clan, she is the one who would forgive you," said Faith, a few images of it flashed through her mind.

"How would you know?" asked Grace.

"Because I see her," said Faith in Na'vi.

A moment of silence passed as Grace thought about what had happened and what Faith had said.

"What happened out there Faith and don't side step the issue because I need to know," said Grace definitively.

"I met Neytiri, got to know her, and in a manner of speaking joined the clan," said Faith, adding: "I think they might even have a ceremony for me."

"Now how the hell did you manage to do that, what did you tsaheylu with someone?" said Grace sarcastically.

"It's not important Grace," said Faith getting up.

"I can ground you from the link chambers..." started Grace.

"But you won't," said Faith, looking back.

"Just watch out for Quaritch, he might try to recruit you. He was bringing your sister out for a reason..." said Grace, her voice trailing off as Faith walked on.

Grace was right in her suspicion of Quaritch, she knew that Jake had talked to him already. She figured, quite rightly, that the fact that both of them were marines would bring them together. Faith on the other hand was another story.

As Trudy walked down the hall she noticed Faith and walked up to her.

"Hey Faith, the Colonel wants to talk to you ASAP," said Trudy.

"Oh yeah? Where?"

"He's in the hangar, you need me to show you the way?" responded Trudy.

"No, I've got it," said Faith, taking a left to get to the hangar.

As she walked she prepared herself for the inevitable lecture and what responses might piss Quaritch off. Neytiri's memories were burning inside her head, and Faith wondered if she could restrain herself from going for his throat on site. She found him pumping iron.

"You wanted to see me Colonel?" asked Faith.

"This low gravity will make you soft. You get soft, Pandora will shit you out dead with zero warning," said Quaritch.

"Lifting weights will only do so much you know. You have to be light on your feet," said Faith.

"Not if you have a gun" said Quaritch.

"I've made it this far without having to shoot someone," said Faith.

"Have you ever," said Quaritch, getting up. "I've read your file, a runner huh? Not exactly legal. 407 counts of assault of an officer, and zero deaths. You are the least lethal weapon I have ever seen. Anyway, your sister was going to be a key part of my team, do you think you can step into her shoes?"

"What the hell do you want with me Colonel?" asked Faith, cutting the crap.

"Recognizance, I need to know how to get those savages to cooperate or pound them if they don't."

Neytiri's emotions flared up inside of Faith. It took Faith an extreme effort of will to keep herself from going at his neck. The knife holstered to his belt seemed all to alluring.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Faith.

"I simple yes or no would suffice Connors," said Quaritch in a tone that made it perfectly clear that "no" would not suffice.

"I'm sure it would," said Faith, "but I think you already know my answer."

"I could make your life hell when you get back to Earth you know," said Quaritch showing that he had no illusion to Faith's real reason for being here.

"Good, I could go for some R&R," said Faith turning to leave. She thought to herself how all of her conversations seem to end with her walking away.

"This isn't the end of this Connors!" called Quaritch, "I still expect you to report to me."

In her room Faith opened her bag and noticed the memory card that she had gotten from her sister that had Max Patel written on it, realizing who it was for. With shock that it had taken her this long, she connected it to the computer in her room. There were only two things on it, one was a 52 petabyte file and the other was some text that was less than a few megabytes. She opened the text file and read it quietly to herself.

"Max, I've got it. A friend in Seattle managed to complete the transfer. You and I both know what they will end up making me do if I don't go through with this. Just bury me outback when it's done. The program should only work once, and even if this doesn't work and I die it would be better than the alternative. At least I'll have a chance to warn them."

Of all the people she could have talked to, Neytiri was the one Faith picked. She picked up the memory card and headed to the link room immediately, knowing that hardly anyone would be there, hoping that Grace wouldn't be among the few. Grace had tried to teach her on all things Na'vi so she wouldn't make a fool of herself, and when Faith passed with flying colors Grace seemed to get more suspicious Faith. Faith wasn't supposed to this stuff, she wasn't even supposed to be on Pandora. Fortunately for Faith, Jake needed all the help he could get which kept Grace preoccupied. To top off her luck, the only people up this early were Frank and Arthur.

"You're up early darling," said Frank whose accent permitted him to get away with saying the word darling.

"Hey, you know how to start the link pods right?" asked Faith.

"Certainly, but don't you want to wait for Jake? Or the morning?" answered Frank.

Faith tried to think of a legitimate reason but failed to think of one and went with a simple "No."

"Alrighty then," said Frank swiveling his chair around, "Let's gets her up and running then."

"Oh and could you take a look at this," said Faith, setting the memory card down.

"Wow this is a big," said Frank, opening the file.

Faith lay down in the pod, which then began to close and move back into the chamber.

"Damn, why won't it close? And your vitals monitor has gone static, I thought we fixed that glitch. What is this anyway Faith?" said Frank looking up.

The noise grew to it's accustomed deafening level and then everything lapsed into silence. That silence was replaced with sounds of the forest before dawn. After a moment of adjustment to her other body, she opened her eyes. After taking in the view, she closed them and tried to go back. She couldn't. The words "bury me out back" floated through her head. She tried again, but still could not. Then the words "oh damn" floated by.

She opened her eyes again to see Neytiri look at her, who was awoken by Faith's stirrings.

Faith pulled herself out of the hammock and Neytiri followed in silence till they were secluded enough that Faith felt safe to talk.

"I'm stuck," said Faith in English to avoid anyone from hearing the conversation.

"What?"

"I can't get out of this body, I've tried and it just doesn't work."

"Maybe you didn't try hard enough or something."

"It's never been hard to do before," said Faith exasperatedly.

"Well, what the hell do you want me to do?" said Neytiri, using some of her new vocabulary.

"I need to get back to the base now, like right now. I need to talk to Grace or someone!"

"It's a two hour ride on a direhorse," said Neytiri, her tone remain calm.

"Can't we fly there?" asked Faith.

"Not the both of us," said Neytiri.

"Alright let's go then," said Faith.

Two hours later they reached the base's security perimeter. There were two entrances, one used my the mining operation and the other by the science team. They headed around toward the second one, keeping their distance to avoid getting shot at. Standing about 100 meters away from the base was a something the size and shape of a post office drop box built to withstand a nuclear holocaust. It featured a small touch screen, a camera, and microphone on it. Faith found the link room on a list and called it.

Frank was busily trying to get Faith's vitals monitor working after he had given up trying to figure out why a 52 petabyte file had just deleted itself, so when the small message popped up that someone was at the gate Frank ignored it. It was only after a minutes insistent pinging that Arthur answered after muttering something repulsive about Frank under his breath.

Arthur's face popped up on the screen outside.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't for the natives. Go away," said Arthur jokingly.

"Shove it Arthur, let us in," said Faith.

"Let US in?" asked Arthur, "Who else is with you?"

"Forget it, just turn off this sector and open the gate," said Faith.

"Not until you show me who else is with you," said Arthur.

Neytiri stepped in front of the camera, keeping her hands off screen.

"Well, I'm not letting her in," declared Arthur.

"Why not?" asked Neytiri in unforced English.

"Sorry I thought you were... never mind," said Arthur sheepishly.

The red light on the corner of the display turned green and the two of them head for the gate.

Grace walked in to the link room just as Arthur turned closed out of the window.

"Hey Grace, Faith just came back through the gate with someone," said Arthur.

"What? With who?" asked Grace, a little surprise in her voice.

"I don't know, she didn't say her name."

"Did you just let a Na'vi into the base Arthur?" asked Grace.

"Don't worry, she spoke English."

"Arthur, I taught some of the Na'vi how to speak English."

Faith and Neytiri crept up behind the hut where all the avatars slept. Neytiri was scared for her life. This was the place that had spawned all the problems of her world. Huge chunks of the planet went in and machines build to destroy came out to get more. She did, however, have nerves of steel.

Likewise, Faith was scared as well. Questions raced through her mind: Had she died in the link pod? If so what was she going to do? What about Merc? He came all this way to be with her. She said she wanted to leave humanity behind her, but she couldn't leave Merc... could she? She thought she had once before...

"Faith are you out there?" called Grace from the other side of the hut. "This better be damn important if you came all the way back to the base."

Faith and Neytiri looked in each other, they had come to talk to someone like Grace but hadn't planned out much more. Neytiri thought about how much danger she was in and wondered if she shouldn't just have fun with it adopting the idea that playing with fire is better than sitting in it.

"We might be," called Neytiri using a human accent.

"We?" asked Grace, starting to walk around to the back of the building.

"What you don't recognize me? Grace I'm hurt," said Neytiri, giving Faith a crooked smile.

"No I don't," said Grace, her voice cross, "Should I?..."

Grace stumbled with her words when she rounded the corner to see a worryingly amused Neytiri and a a worried Faith.

"You... you... you shouldn't be here..." said Grace.

"Yet here we are," said Neytiri, "and I think Faith needs to tell you something."

"I can't get out of this body, I'm stuck. I need to see if I'm still alive in there..." said Faith.

"I'll check for you Faith, but I'm sure that the sensors would have flagged if you had flatlined."

"Grace this is something I need to see myself, please let me in."

"You can't go in dressed like that Faith," declared Grace.

"Forgive me for being observant, but most of the avatar clothes are housed in here aren't they," said Neytiri, patting the building.

"Yes... but how did know?" asked Grace, then taking control, "And since when did you speak english so well?"

"That's not important now, but if you're so interested just use your imagination" said Neytiri.

"What? Fine. Neytiri can stay inside the housing."

"No it's fine really, I won't act natural," said Neytiri.

"Can we just get in there please!" said Faith exasperatedly.

"This is ridiculous..." mumbled Grace.

Three people walked into the air lock, one wearing a mask and two carrying masks. After a loud hiss the opposite was true. There were a few air masks built for avatars incase they ever needed to come inside, and they were quite necessary to keep Faith and Neytiri alive.

"Walk directly behind me and keep your heads low..." started Grace, feeling foolish as she went on.

The link room was empty except for two men, Frank and Merc.

"Hello Faith, didn't expect to see that version of you here," said Merc. Noticing the pained look on her face Merc asked: "Is everything alright Faith?"

"Merc... could you help me with something?" asked Faith quietly as she walked over to her link pod.

Merc and Neytiri joined her as she opened it. In it was Faith, her eyes shut, her body quiet and unmoving. The three of them stood there for a minute and just looked.

"I knew it..." said Faith quietly, kneeling down to see what used to be her body better.


End file.
